Departments and Courses

International Academic Records

What academic records do I send?

Academic records should include official copies of all of your academic work from upper secondary school and any post-secondary work you have taken since completing secondary school.

International admission requirements are based on the requirements to enter university in your home country, with consideration for special circumstances and the holistic approach to US university admissions.

Official:Official documents are those that are issued by the appropriate authority and are clearly identifiable as coming from that source. They should be final and include all coursework or results. We do accept copies if they have been certified or attested; specific requirements depend on the country. To be considered official documents must be sent by a school counselor, EducationUSA counselor, or another educational officer. If exam results are able to be certified online, Albion College may accept unofficial versions that include the required verification information.

Translations:Certified translations are required if the original academic records are not issued by the authorizing body in English. We will not review applications that don’t include both the original language official document and a certified translation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide both documents.

Transcripts:Transcripts are official documents detailing the classroom performance of students over time, and provide a history of academic performance. They are common in systems where completion of studies is determined by meeting class and grade requirements over time, such as in the United States and Canada. Transcripts are typically issued by the school the student attended.

Examination Results/Secondary Exam Certificates:Many countries require students to take exams administered externally, not by the school. The successful passing of these exams demonstrates that the student has completed secondary school and an official examination certificate is required for admission. Typically, this certificate is named “Certificate of Secondary Education”, “Senior Secondary Examination Certificate”, or similar. Documents should include both the results of exams and the conferral of the certificate. Provisional results slips, screenshots of website, and similar unofficial documents cannot be used for application review.

Internal Mark Sheets:Internal Mark Sheets are common in systems that require Secondary Examinations for completion. They show a student's performance over time as recorded by the school, but because completion is based on secondary exams they are not considered transcripts. They are required to accompany Secondary Examination Certificates to allow Albion to review historic academic performance.

French-style Systems:A relevé de notes is required for application review. You must provide a certified copy of bac results to confirm secondary completion.

Final Documents:If you were in secondary school at the time of admission, you must provide evidence of completion before you can begin classes. For students using a transcript, a final transcript demonstrating that you received your high school degree meets this requirement.

Both Secondary Examination Certificates and Internal Mark Sheets are required from applicants who have studied in the following country systems. This is a partial list; you may be required to send both documents if your country is not on this list.

International Baccalaureate

Malaysia

Australia*

Mongolia

Bangladesh

Nigeria

Botswana

Pakistan

Cameroon - British system

Sierra Leone

Caribbean Commonwealth countries

Singapore

Gambia

South Africa

Ghana

Sri Lanka

Hong Kong

Swaziland

India

Tanzania

Ireland

Uganda

Kenya

United Kingdom

Liberia

Zimbabwe

*Australia - Requirements based on state, email for more information

Transfer Students:If you have attended any post-secondary institution after completing secondary school, we must have official documents showing all coursework for every institution you attended in addition to secondary school records. You should obtain official documents or certified copies, certified translations if the original is not in English, and send them to Albion College. We acknowledge that most universities will not send documents overseas, and will accept sealed envelopes you send.

If you decide to enroll, you will only receive credit for previous work outside of the US if we receive an official evaluation report directly from a NACES-approved service.